Soup recipes to feed the soul

There's nothing like a steaming bowl of hearty, home-made soup for feeding a
cold – or the soul.

It's dark, it's raining and my boiler has once again given up the ghost. Thank goodness there's a pot of soup in the fridge. Preparing it was like walking into a familiar room – the chopping of vegetables, the smell of stock, the sound of gentle simmering.

Despite all the new food trends to which we are subject and the vogue for particular culinary approaches, soup doesn't change. Ancient recipes for soups and broths are very similar to those in modern cookbooks. They can be chunky or smooth but they are all based on liquids – usually stock, sometimes milk or water – and vegetables. We eat them when we are cold, when we want comfort and when we are ill. Doctors were recommending chicken soup to combat colds as early as the 12th century. According to the American food historian Ken Albala, the way we turn to soups when we are ill shows sound survival instincts because they are anti-inflammatory and easy to digest. They don't just appear to soothe your throat as you eat them, they are actually doing you good.

Soup is also a very 'giving' dish. When you're desperate for comfort you don't want to do much work – no wrestling with bones or cutting things up. A warm, thick liquid is perfect. The way you crouch over your bowl, the steam warming your face, means you almost hug yourself as you eat. And of course you imbibe it using the kindliest kitchen implement – a spoon. Knives and forks are for jabbing and slicing; spoons cradle food and slide gently in and out of your mouth. I'm sure this is one of the reasons we love them.

And love them we do. It's hard to believe we British once made soup from powders when you look at the range of ready-made chilled soups available these days, and they reach further than the supermarket. Chains such as Pret A Manger and Eat depend not just on sandwiches but on the popularity of soup (Pret A Manger says that it sells more than two million portions every year, and demand is increasing).

Ready-made soups from the supermarket chiller may be an improvement on packets but they are never as good as your own. Made to appeal to the broadest number of palates, they are usually bland and light on seasoning and spicing. When I taste a great soup I know I am in the hands of a really good cook, as few dishes require you to taste and tweak as much. Here are the recipes below, but they're only half the story. The soup itself can only be made by you and your palate. Your effort will be repaid when you haul it out of the fridge on a cold, wet night.